Fabric fastener

ABSTRACT

A plastic ring has a tongue extending downwardly from the top of the ring and has a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of the ring beneath the tongue. The bottom edge of the tongue slightly overlaps the top edge of the tab. The tongue is normally disposed at an acute angle to the plane of the ring to fit over the top edges of two pieces of fabric which are to be detachably fastened together. To lock the fastener, the tongue is manually displaced past the top edge of the locking tab so that a portion of the fabric is pinched between the bottom edge of the tongue and the top edge of the locking tab. To release the fastener, the tongue is manually displaced past the locking tab back to its original position.

United States Patent Buerger 1 Dec.2, 1975 FABRIC FASTENER [22] Filed:Dec. 26, 1974 [21] Appl. N0.: 536,503

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 24/246 [51] Int. Cl. A44B 21/00 [58] Field of Search 24/259PF, 246, 245 R,

24/245 A, 245 B, 248 GC, 248 HE, 248 PC, 248 SL, 252 HE, 255 R, 255 HE,255 SL, 256, 259 B, 73 MF, 73 PF Primary Examiner-Geo. V. LarkinAttorney, Agent, or FirmHenry C. Fuller [57] ABSTRACT A plastic ring hasa tongue extending downwardly from the top of the ring and has a lockingtab extending upwardly from the bottom of the ring beneath the tongue.The bottom edge of the tongue slightly overlaps the top edge of the tab.The tongue is normally disposed at an acute angle to the plane of thering to fit over the top edges of two pieces of fabric which are to bedetachably fastened together. To lock the fastener, the tongue ismanually displaced past the top edge of the locking tab so that aportion of the fabric is pinched between the bottom edge of the tongueand the top edge of the locking tab. To release the fastener, the tongueis manually displaced past the locking tab back to its originalposition.

10 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Dec. 2, 1975 Sheet 2 of23,922,763

FABRIC FASTENER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates tofabric fasteners that can be used to hold the overlapped ends of adiaper or other fabric together. The principal object of this inventionis to provide a fabric fastener that is safer than the pins which haveheretofore been used for holding fabric ends together. Other objects,advantages, and features of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following disclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A fastening ring has a tongue extendingdownwardly from the top of the ring and has a locking tab extendingupwardly from the bottom of the ring beneath the tongue. The bottom edgeof the tongue is close enough to the top edge of the locking tab topinch a piece of fabric therebetween. The tongue is preferably disposedat an acute angle to the plane of the ring fit over the top edges of twopieces of fabric which are to be temporarily fastened together. Thefastening ring is locked by manually displacing the tongue past thelocking tab so that a portion of the fabric is pinched between thebottom edge of the tongue and the top edge of the locking tab. Thefastening ring is released by manually displacing the tongue past thelocking tab back to its original position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of thepreferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the fastener of FIGS. 1-4 with thetongue displaced toward the plane of the ring.

FIG. 6A is a top view of the fastener of FIGS. 1-5 with the tonguepositioned over the top edges of two pieces of fabric which are to befastened together, the tongue being in the open position.

FIG. 6B is a longitudinal sectional view of the fastener and fabricshown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a top view similar to FIG. 6A with the tongue of the fastenerin the locked position.

FIG. 7B is a longitudinal sectional view of the fastener and fabricshown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a second embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of a third embodiment of theinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Although the disclosure hereofis detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention, the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplifythe invention which may be embodied in other specific structure. Thescope of the invention is defined in the claims appended hereto. 1

Referring to FIGS. l5, the preferred embodiment of the invention isdesigned for use as a diaper clasp and comprises a plastic fasteningring 10 which has a tongue 12 extending downwardly from the top of ring10 and has a locking tab 14 extending upwardly from the bottom or ring10 beneath tongue 12. Ring 10, tongue 12, and locking tab 14 arepreferably integrally molded of a suitable plastic such as nylon,polyethylene, polypropylene, or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, tongue 12is normally disposed at an acute angle of approximately 30 degrees tothe plane 16 of ring 10 so that it can be placed over the top edge oftwo pieces of fabric which are to be fastened together as describedhereinafter. The upper shoulder portions 18 of ring 10 which areadjacent to the upper side edges of tongue 12 are preferably inclinedtoward the front of ring 10 as indicated in FIG. 2. This directsshoulder portions 18 away from the baby when the fastener is used on adiaper and helps prevent contact between the fastener and the babysskin.

The upper shoulder portions 18 of ring 10 are made thin enough to permitswinging motion of tongue 12 but are thick enough to reduce sidewayssliding movement and prevent upward movement of tongue 12. This isimportant because while it is necessary to swing tongue 12 toward theplane 16 of ring 10 to lock the fastener, sideways sliding of tongue 12tends to unlock the fastener. With nylon as the material of thefastener, a circular cross-section with a 3/64 inch diameter has beenfound to be suitable for shoulder portions 18.

A pair of stiffening ribs 20 are preferably formed in the portions ofring 10 immediately below shoulder portions 18 to help keep shoulderportions 18 from moving when tongue 12 is swung toward locking tab 14.Stiffening ribs 20 are desirable but are not essential to the operationof this embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the bottom edge 22 of tongue 12 preferably extendsslightly below the upper edge 24 of locking tab 14 when tongue 12 ismoved adjacent to tab 14, thereby producing an overlap A between edges22 and 24. Overlap A serves to pinch fabric between edges 22 and 24 whenthe fastener is locked as is described hereinafter. Overlap A is smallenough to permit the bottom edge 22 of tongue 12 to be manually forcedover the upper edge 24 of locking tab 14 with two layers of fabrictherebetween. An overlap of 1/32 inch has been found to be workable inconnection with this embodiment of the invention. However, it should beunderstood that larger or smaller overlaps could be used in otherembodiments of the invention. In the limiting case, the overlap A couldbe eliminated, providing the clearance between edges 22 and 24 is smallenough so that the two layers of fabric therebetween will be pinchedsufficiently to lock the fastener.

Slit 28 is cut on a 45 angle to plane 16 of ring 10 between holes 26 inthe bottom portion of ring 10 below the locking tab 14 to permit tab 14to be moved manually far enough out of plane 16 of ring 10 to easilylock the fastener while making it considerably harder to unlock, therebyenhancing the fasteners holding strength while making application ofsaid fastener much easier. However, holes 26 and slit 28 are notessential because substantially the same effect, i.e. movability oflocking tab 14, could be achieved by making the bottom portion of ring10 thin enough. Tab 14 can also be tapered as at 30 (FIG. 2) to enhanceits movability and to provide a thin upper edge 24.

The bottom rear edge portion of tongue 12 is recessed at 32 to engagethe locked fabric and to help keep tab 14 from sliding sideways offtongue 12 when the fastener is locked. The lower side edge portions 34(FIG. 2) of tongue 12 are also enlarged to engage the fabric and helpkeep tab 14 from sliding sideways off tongue 12.

The above-described embodiment is intended for use as a diaper clasp butit can be used as a fastener for holding any two pieces of fabrictogether. To use the fastener, the two diaper ends 36 and 38 (FIGS. 6Aand 6B) are overlapped and are held together with the thumb andforefinger of one hand (not shown) while the ring 10 is grasped with theother hand (not shown) and is slid down over the upper edge of diaperends 36 and 38 with tongue 12 extending downwardly on the inside ofdiaper ends 36 and 38 as shown in FIG. 6B and with ring 10 and lockingtab 14 extending downwardly on the outside of the diaper ends. Ring 10is pushed far enough down so that the upper edges of diaper ends 36 and38 touch the upper shoulder portions 18 of ring 10. The forefinger ofone hand is then placed on the inside surface of tongue 12 and ispressed outwardly-while the thumb of the other hand is pressed inwardlyon the outside bottom edge of ring 10 with sufficient pressure to causetongue.12 to ride up over the top edge24 of locking tab 14 and tooverlap the outside surface of tab 14 as shown in FIG. 7B. A smallportion 40 (FIG. 7B) of the diaper ends 36 and 38 is then pinchedbetween the bottom edge 22 of tongue 12 and the top edge 24 of lockingtab 14 which are pressed together due to the tendency of shoulderportions 18 to return tongue 12 to its original position (FIG. 6B). The

pinching of diaper portion 40 locks the fastener and holds the diaperends 36 and 38 together under ring 10.; The lock holds against sidewayspull on the diaper ends 36 and 38 due to engagement of the fabric withthe margin of the recess 32 and the enlarged ends 34 of tongue 12 andthe resistance to sideways movement offered by upper shoulder portions18.

It should be noted in FIGS. 7A and 78 that insertion and locking of thefastener of this invention causes an outward. bulge 42 in the diaperends 36 and 38 which draws the ring 10, shoulders 18, and tongue 12 outwardly away from the babys skin so that no part of the fastener contactsthe babys skin. Other advantages of this invention with respect to pinsare that the fastener of this invention has no sharp points that couldinjure the baby or the person fastening the diaper and is too large tobe swallowed by the baby. In addition, the fastener of this inventioncan be made of unbreakable plastic which is machine washable and can beboiled to kill bacteria. Also, because it is made of flexible plastic,the fastener of this invention will bend as the baby bends to affordmore comfort. Further, the fastener of this invention can beeconomically manufactured by conventional injection molding techniquesand it has no removable parts that can break off and leave small objectsfor the baby to swallow.

To release the fastener of this invention after it is locked, the bulge42 of diaper ends 36 and 38 is pressed inwardly while at the same timethe lower inside portion of ring 10 is pressed outwardly until tongue 12rides up over locking tab 14 and returns to the unlocked position shownin FIGS. 6A and 6B. The fastener can then be easily lifted off thediaper ends 36 and 38 to release them.

Although the particular shape of tongue 12 and locking tap 14 shown inFIGS. 1-78 is preferable, other shapes could be employed if desired. Forexample, FIG. 8 shows a variation in which the tongue 44 has a roundedpoint 46 and locking tab 48 has a wide arcuate upper edge 50 with spacedside portions 52 which are shaped as prongs to bite into the fabricclamped thereby. In FIG. 9, both the tongue 54 and locking tab 56 haverelatively broad, flat facing edges. Other modi-. fications of thedisclosed structure will be apparent to those skilled in the art andthis invention includes all modifications falling within the scope ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. -A fastener for locking together two pieces of fabric comprising aring having a tongue extending downwardly from the top of said ring andhaving a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of said ringunder said tongue, said tongue being movable to a position at an acuteangle to the plane of said ring to fit over the top edges of saidfabric, and the material forming the junction of said tongue and saidring being flexible enough to permit the tongue to be displaced towardthe plane of said ring past said locking tab to pinch a portion of saidfabric between the bottom of said tongue and the top of said locking tabto lock the two pieces of fabric together.

2. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the bottom edge of said tongueoverlaps the top edge of said locking tab.

3. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the amount of said overlap is nogreater than l/32 of an inch.

4. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the bottom rear edge of said tongueis recessed to grip said fabric to prevent sideways movement of thesame.

5. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the bottom side edges of said tongueare enlarged to gripsaid fabric and prevent sideways movement of thesame.

6. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said ring, said tongue, and saidlocking tab are integrally joined together.

7., The fastener of claim 1 and further comprising two holes connectedby a slit cut on a 45 angle to the plane of said ring located below saidlocking tab to enable said tab to be displaced slightly and assist inlocking said fastener while making it considerably harder to unlock andthereby retaining said fasteners holding strength.

8. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said tongue is normally disposed atan acute angle to the plane of said ring.

9. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the shoulder portions of said ringadjacent to the upper side edges of said tongue are flexible enough topermit said tongue to be swung toward the plane of said ring but arestiff enough to prevent said tongue from being raised and reducesideways displacement of said tongue.

10. The fastener of claim 9 and further comprising stiffening ribs insaid ring below said shoulder portions thereof.

1. A fastener for locking together two pieces of fabric comprising aring having a tongue extending downwardly from the top of said ring andhaving a locking tab extending upwardly from the bottom of saId ringunder said tongue, said tongue being movable to a position at an acuteangle to the plane of said ring to fit over the top edges of saidfabric, and the material forming the junction of said tongue and saidring being flexible enough to permit the tongue to be displaced towardthe plane of said ring past said locking tab to pinch a portion of saidfabric between the bottom of said tongue and the top of said locking tabto lock the two pieces of fabric together.
 2. The fastener of claim 1wherein the bottom edge of said tongue overlaps the top edge of saidlocking tab.
 3. The fastener of claim 1 wherein the amount of saidoverlap is no greater than 1/32 of an inch.
 4. The fastener of claim 1wherein the bottom rear edge of said tongue is recessed to grip saidfabric to prevent sideways movement of the same.
 5. The fastener ofclaim 1 wherein the bottom side edges of said tongue are enlarged togrip said fabric and prevent sideways movement of the same.
 6. Thefastener of claim 1 wherein said ring, said tongue, and said locking tabare integrally joined together.
 7. The fastener of claim 1 and furthercomprising two holes connected by a slit cut on a 45* angle to the planeof said ring located below said locking tab to enable said tab to bedisplaced slightly and assist in locking said fastener while making itconsiderably harder to unlock and thereby retaining said fastener''sholding strength.
 8. The fastener of claim 1 wherein said tongue isnormally disposed at an acute angle to the plane of said ring.
 9. Thefastener of claim 1 wherein the shoulder portions of said ring adjacentto the upper side edges of said tongue are flexible enough to permitsaid tongue to be swung toward the plane of said ring but are stiffenough to prevent said tongue from being raised and reduce sidewaysdisplacement of said tongue.
 10. The fastener of claim 9 and furthercomprising stiffening ribs in said ring below said shoulder portionsthereof.